MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: U.S. stock indexes fell as investors dumped tech stocks amid fresh worries that hyperscalers are overspending on AI.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields climbed to multi-year highs amid renewed inflation concerns.
FOREX: The dollar strengthened.
COMMODITIES: Brent crude settled above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months as the conflict in the Middle East widened.
HEADLINES
Intel Shares Jump 12% as Sales Surge 25% in Second Quarter
Intel's business continues to turn around, demonstrated by a second-quarter earnings report that came in well ahead of investors' expectations.
On Thursday, the chip maker reported sales of $16.1 billion for the June quarter, up 25% from the year-earlier period and beating estimates from analysts by 11%.
Intel projected that September quarter revenue will come in between $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, well above the $15.1 billion analysts had projected. Shares traded up 12% after markets closed.
Lockheed Martin Raises Full-Year Outlook on Continued Expansion of Munitions Production
Lockheed Martin raised its full-year outlook after its second-quarter profit rose as the defense contractor continues to rapidly expand munitions production.
The company on Thursday posted a profit of $1.84 billion, or $7.94 a share, compared with $342 million, or $1.46 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Factset expected earnings of $7.19 a share. The year-ago quarter was hurt by more than $1.7 billion in special charges.
Sales rose 11% to $20.06 billion compared with Wall Street estimates of $19.34 billion. Lockheed said it had higher volumes and munitions ramp ups across all its units, including aeronautics, missiles and fire control, space, and rotary and mission systems.
Trump Says Iran Will Be Held Responsible for Future Houthi Attacks
President Trump said the U.S. would hold Iran responsible for future attacks by Houthi militants after the group fired on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, sending oil prices skyrocketing.
"The Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves," he wrote in a social-media post Thursday.
The Houthis' military spokesman said the group targeted two Saudi oil tankers with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones in the Red Sea on Wednesday, opening a potential new front in the conflict as the U.S. and Iran traded strikes for a 12th consecutive night.
Mortgage Rates Hit Highest Levels in Nearly a Year
Mortgage rates rose to their highest level in almost a year, as rising tensions in the Middle East spurred fears of higher inflation.
The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.58% this week, up from 6.55% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac, the highest level to date this year. Mortgage rates are closely tied to the 10-year Treasury yield, which hit an 18-month high Thursday due to rising oil prices.
Yemen's Houthi militants claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, promising to further constrict oil supply. The move sent oil prices past $100 a barrel Thursday.
American Airlines Cuts Guidance After Latest Fuel Surge
American Airlines said it is on course for an adjusted loss in the current quarter after the latest surge in jet fuel prices.
The carrier said Thursday that revenue is projected to rise 16% to 19% in the third quarter but that it is on track to post an adjusted loss of 10 cents to 70 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had been forecasting an adjusted profit of 26 cents a share.
Given the recent jump in fuel costs from the ongoing war in Iran, American said its bottom line for the full year would be somewhere between an adjusted profit of 65 cents a share and an adjusted loss of 65 cents a share. That's down from a previous target of between an adjusted loss of 40 cents a share and adjusted earnings of $1.10 a share.
T-Mobile Revenue Ticks Up, Though Postpaid Account Growth Has Slowed
T-Mobile US's profit and revenue grew in the latest quarter, boosted by its postpaid business, but new account additions have begun to slow.
Still, the cell carrier maintained its forecasts for profit and postpaid net account adds for the full year.
Its shares fell roughly 6%.
RTX Again Raises Full-Year Forecast on Robust Demand, Higher Backlog
RTX again raised its forecast for the year as robust demand and a higher backlog fueled sales in its latest second quarter.
The company saw double-digit sales increases across its commercial aerospace and defense segments as global spending has climbed amid conflicts in the Ukraine and Middle East.
RTX, along with fellow defense contractor Lockheed Martin, have pledged to meet White House demands to triple or quadruple their output of some high-tech missiles in the coming years.
U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Drop Again for the Week
U.S. jobless claims sank last week, bucking expectations for an increase yet again.
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits was 187,000 in the week through July 18, 22,000 fewer than the upwardly revised 209,000 reported a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting to see the figure rise to 212,000.
Continuing claims, which scale with the total size of the unemployed population, totaled 1,796,000 in the week through July 11, falling by 2,000 from the downwardly revised total of a week earlier. The data on continuing claims lag the initial-claims data by a week.
TALKING POINT Why Wall Street Firms Are Paying $100,000 a Month for a Fast Track to Trump Posts
President Trump's Truth Social is selling stock market traders superfast access to his posts on the platform. Wall Street was already in on that game.
Many big investment firms have developed automated systems to monitor Truth Social, detect important keywords and take action-often within a fraction of a second-such as initiating or canceling positions, traders said.
A Wall Street Journal review of trading data shows how quickly some traders have pounced on the president's online comments. In the minute following two of Trump's posts about Iran last month, investors traded more than 2 million shares, according to data from DTN. These trades caused swings of more than 2% in almost two dozen energy and industrial stocks.
The new "Truth API" product from Trump Media & Technology will let firms pay for an even faster readout of the president's posts. The company plans to charge $100,000 a month, or $60,000 a month if traders commit for years, according to people familiar with the matter. Those figures are out of reach for many everyday traders who follow the president's social posts closely.
The White House referred comments to Trump Media. A spokesperson for the company said, "Truth API is designed to deliver posts the instant they are made public to everyone, not before."
On June 9, the president posted at 12:38 p.m. that Iran had shot down an Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, adding, "The United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack." Trading in energy stocks spiked almost immediately, the data the Journal reviewed show, pushing share prices up.
--Gunjan Banerji, Caitlin Ostroff and Krystal Hur, The Wall Street Journal
Expected Major Events for Friday
00:30/JPN: Jul Japan Flash Manufacturing PMI
05:30/JPN: Jun Tokyo area department store sales
05:30/JPN: Jun Nationwide department store sales
06:00/GER: Aug GfK consumer climate survey
06:00/UK: Jun Retail sales
07:15/FRA: Jul France Flash PMI
07:30/GER: Jul Germany Flash PMI
08:30/UK: Jul Flash UK PMI
08:30/UK: Jul Agents' Summary of Business Conditions
12:30/CAN: Jun Industrial product and raw materials price indexes
12:30/CAN: Jun New Housing Price Index
13:45/US: Jul US Flash Manufacturing PMI
13:45/US: Jul US Flash Services PMI
14:00/US: Jun New Residential Sales
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Friday
American Express Co $(AXP)$ is expected to report $4.40 for 2Q.
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp $(BAH)$ is expected to report $1.41 for 1Q.
California BanCorp $(BCAL)$ is expected to report $0.40 for 2Q.
Canadian National Railway Co (CNI,CNR.T) is expected to report $1.94 for 2Q.
Capital Bancorp Inc (CBNK) is expected to report $0.83 for 2Q.
Carter's Inc $(CRI)$ is expected to report $0.05 for 2Q.
Central Pacific Financial Corp $(CPF)$ is expected to report $0.78 for 2Q.
Chain Bridge Bancorp Inc (CBNA) is expected to report for 2Q.
Charter Communications Inc - Class A $(CHTR)$ is expected to report $10.30 for 2Q.
ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc (COFS) is expected to report $0.88 for 2Q.
Dyne Therapeutics Inc $(DYN)$ is expected to report $-0.75 for 2Q.
First Bank (Williamstown NJ) (FRBA) is expected to report $0.40 for 2Q.
First Hawaiian Inc (FHB) is expected to report $0.58 for 2Q.
Flagstar Bank NA $(FLG)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Gentex Corp $(GNTX)$ is expected to report $0.50 for 2Q.
German American Bancorp Inc $(GABC)$ is expected to report $0.92 for 2Q.
Gorman-Rupp Co $(GRC)$ is expected to report $0.69 for 2Q.
GrafTech International Ltd $(EAF)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
HCA Healthcare Inc $(HCA)$ is expected to report $7.53 for 2Q.
Hartford Insurance Group Inc $(HIG)$ is expected to report $3.40 for 2Q.
Hilltop Holdings Inc $(HTH)$ is expected to report $0.49 for 2Q.
Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW) is expected to report $0.54 for 4Q.
Ledyard Financial Group (LFGP) is expected to report for 2Q.
MetroCity Bankshares Inc (MCBS) is expected to report $0.82 for 2Q.
National Bankshares Inc (NKSH) is expected to report $0.80 for 2Q.
National Presto Industries Inc (NPK) is expected to report for 2Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
July 23, 2026 16:44 ET (20:44 GMT)
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